Australia’s first collaboration to boost medical device innovation in cardiovascular disease

MedTech News: The Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) has been awarded $200,000 in funding from MTPConnect’s Industry Growth Centre Project Fund for a new effort to boost Australia’s involvement in clinical trials for research into cardiovascular devices.

The Project will, for the first time, map the MedTech capabilities and resources specifically available to support cardiovascular MedTech development in Australia.

By creating an online searchable portal, the project will improve collaboration and promote the development of medical devices for cardiovascular disease in Australia. The Project will also develop a clinical trial service to support research groups to set up cardiovascular related
clinical trials on medical devices in Australia.

MTPConnect Managing Director and CEO Dr Dan Grant congratulated ACvA and consortia members for securing the funding which will drive growth of cardiovascular clinical trials in Australia.

“The billion-dollar clinical trial sector is part of our robust and diverse health ecosystem in Australia employing thousands of people, attracting international investment and providing access to the latest treatments for Australian patients.

“Australia is an attractive destination for international companies looking to conduct clinical trials and the more we can grow the sector, the more Australian patients we’ll see receiving life-saving treatment for their cardiovascular conditions.

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“This new Project will support medical device R&D in Australia and promote the translation and commercialisation of cardiovascular devices arising from this R&D. The Project also compliments MTPConnect’s Targeted Translation Research Accelerator initiative which is supporting research into diabetes and cardiovascular diseases,” Dr Grant said.

In Australia and around the world, cardiovascular disease kills 17.5 million people every year, with one Australian dying from cardiovascular disease every 12 minutes.

The Cardiovascular Device Clinical Trial Collaborative Project is an ACvA-led consortium from across the ACvA national membership with funding from leading industry partners including The Charles Perkins Centre – The University of Sydney and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.

ACvA Executive Director, Kerry Doyle, PSM said “We believe there is an immediate opportunity to capture a larger share of the first-in-human clinical trials market, with flow-on effects to our competitive position across all related clinical trials by coordinating and capitalising on our existing world class infrastructure, research and clinical capabilities across the country, working closely with the ACvA’s Clinical Trials Flagship, and key stakeholders such as ACTA and ANZACT.

“The project funded by MTPConnect and our partners are fundamental to achieving this vision by helping us to understand, make visible and connect the capability and infrastructure available across the country that demonstrate our existing capabilities and help drive future competitive advantage,” Kerry Doyle said.

The MTPConnect funding will be matched by industry contributions.

MTPConnect’s $15.6 million Growth Centre Project Fund now supports 40 collaborative projects, engaging over 190 consortium members and generating over $22 million in matching industry contributions.